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 TEST BANK

Chapter 8

DISCRIMINATION BASED ON RELIGION AND NATIONAL ORIGIN & PROCEDURES

UNDER

True/False Questions

_____ 1. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of
religion.
ANSWER: T

_____ 2. An employer who is providing helicopter pilots under contract to the Saudi Arabian
government to fly Muslim pilgrims to Mecca could refuse to hire non-Muslims or require all pilots to
convert to Islam.
ANSWER: T

_____ 3. While seeking accommodation, an employee is required to act reasonably in considering the
alternative means of accommodation that is available.
ANSWER: T

_____ 4. Title VII does not currently prohibit employment discrimination against any applicant or
employee because of national origin.
ANSWER: F

_____ 5. Title VII does not allow employers to hire employees of a particular ethnic or national origin
even if based on legitimate business, safety, or security concerns.
ANSWER: F

_____ 6. The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination.

ANSWER: T

_____ 7. The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA) prohibits employment
discrimination because of national origin or citizenship against applicants or employees, including illegal
aliens.
ANSWER: F

_____ 8. Under Title VII, the federal government has exclusive authority over employment
discrimination issues.
ANSWER: F

_____ 9. If the EEOC dismisses a complaint or decides not to file suit, it notifies the complainant that
he or she may file suit on his or her own.
ANSWER: T

_____ 10. An employee is given 160 days to file complaint with the EEOC under the Lilly Ledbetter
Fair Pay Act.
ANSWER: F

_____ 11. The plaintiff, in a suit under Title VII, always carries the burden of proof.

© 2011 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a
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Cihon/Castagnera, Employment & Labor Law, 7e Test Bank page 2

ANSWER: T

_____ 12. Unions and employers generally agree that any dispute arising under their collective
agreements will be settled through arbitration.
ANSWER: T

_____ 13. Individual employees, even those in supervisory or managerial positions, are personally
liable under Title VII.
ANSWER: F

_____ 14. Section 706(g) provides that no backpay order shall extend to a period prior to one year
before the date of the filing of a complaint with the EEOC.
ANSWER: F

_____ 15. The rules of procedure for the federal courts allow an individual plaintiff to sue on behalf of a
whole class of individuals allegedly suffering the same harm.
ANSWER: T

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Government action involving religion raises issues under the __________ of the U.S. Constitution.
a. Third Amendment
b. First Amendment
c. Fifth Amendment
d. Fourth Amendment
ANSWER: (b)

2. Title VII includes religion within the BFOQ exception enumerated in:
a. Section 703(d) (2).
b. Section 703(d) (1).
c. Section 702(d) (2).
d. Section 703(e) (1).
ANSWER: (d)

3. The judgment of the court in Corporation of the Presiding Bishop of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints v. Amos, in which plaintiffs brought action against the CPB and the COP alleging,
among other things, discrimination on the basis of religion in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,
was:
a. upheld.
b. reversed.
c. remanded.
d. dismissed.
ANSWER: (c)

4. Section 702(a) provides an exception under Title VII to all:

a. religious associations.
b. non-profit institutes.
c. corporate houses.
d. international organizations.
ANSWER: (a)

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Cihon/Castagnera, Employment & Labor Law, 7e Test Bank page 3

5. When an employer is not within the exemption provision of Section 702 under Title VII, and the
religion is not a BFOQ, the prohibition against discrimination on the basis of religion is:
a. absolute.
b. obsolete.
c. not absolute.
d. unconditional.
ANSWER: (c)

6. Identify the case in which the Court of Appeals held that the employer had committed an unlawful
employment practice under Section 703(a) (1) of the Act.
a. Trans World Airlines v. Harry
b. Atkinson Airlines v. Hudson
c. Starbucks Airlines v. Hardsen
d. Trans World Airlines v. Hardison
ANSWER: (d)

7. The decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Webb v. City of Philadelphia, in
which Officer Webb filed a complaint of religious discrimination under Title VII with the
Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission and the federal Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission, stated that:
a. uniform requirements were crucial to the safety of officers.
b. an accommodation would cause an undue hardship on the employees.
c. the strict enforcement of Directive 78 was not essential to the values of impartiality,
religious neutrality and uniformity.
d. some employees may find a co-worker’s exercise of his or her religious beliefs offensive.
ANSWER: (a)

8. Which section of Title VII states that it is not a violation if an employer refuses to hire or to discharge
an employee who is unable to meet the requirements for a national security clearance where federal
law or regulations require such a clearance for the job in question?
a. Section 703(a)
b. Section 703(f)
c. Section 703(e)
d. Section 703(g)
ANSWER: (d)

9. In which of the following cases did the EEOC argue that the district court erred in each respect of the
decision and finally appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit?
a. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. City of Arlington
b. Equal Employment opportunity Committee v. Earnest & Young Enterprises, Inc.
c. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. WC&M Enterprises, Inc.
d. Equal Employment Opportunity Committee v. E &M Enterprise, Inc.
ANSWER: (c)

10. The EEOC enforces __________ prohibiting employment discrimination.

a. state laws
b. regional laws
c. community laws
d. federal laws
ANSWER: (d)

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publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Cihon/Castagnera, Employment & Labor Law, 7e Test Bank page 4

11. In Garcia v. Spun Steak Company, where the employees and the union filed suit against Spun Steak,
alleging that the English-only policy violated Title VII, the court of Appeals:
a. dismissed the trial court judgment.
b. remanded the trial court judgment.
c. reversed the trial court judgment.
d. enforced the trial court judgment.
ANSWER: (c)

12. Ron and Roderick were American employees at a publishing firm. The company employed 22
workers, most of who were French or spoke French. There were constant complaints pertaining to
language issues by Ron and Roderick. The company subsequently adopted an “English-only” policy,
requiring employees to speak in English while conducting business. The French employees and the
union then filed a lawsuit against the company, alleging that the English-only policy violated Title
VII. In this case, the court held that there was no violation of Title VII because:
a. there wasn’t enough evidence that the rule was actually implemented.
b. there were no reasonable grounds to justify that provisions of Title VII were violated.
c. there were not a sufficient number of employees to support the union.
d. there were a large number of English speaking employees in the company.
ANSWER: (b)

13. Employers are allowed to refuse to hire applicants who are denied national security clearances for
positions subject to federal security requirements under:
a. Section 703(g) of Title VII.
b. Section 703(e) of Title VII.
c. Section 704(e) of Title VII.
d. Section 703(f) of Title VII.
ANSWER: (a)

14. The Immigration Reform and Control Act was enacted in the year:
a. 1889.
b. 1986.
c. 1898.
d. 1978.
ANSWER: (b)

15. Unlike the National Labor Relations Act, Title VII does not give exclusive authority over
employment discrimination issues to:
a. local governments.
b. state authorities.
c. employers.
d. the federal government.
ANSWER: (d)

16. Dorothy filed a complaint with the EEOC against her employer alleging sex-based discrimination.
The complaint can be filed with the EEOC:
a. within 300 days of occurrence of the act.
b. only if the company is registered with the EEOC.
c. which will be immediately sent to the district court.
d. prior to filing the complaint with a state or local agency.
ANSWER: (a)

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publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Cihon/Castagnera, Employment & Labor Law, 7e Test Bank page 5

17. Mohammed worked in a garment manufacturing firm. He was a new immigrant from Afghanistan
and due to the terrorist activities in his country he faced several discrimination issues at his place of
work. He was subjected to humiliation and verbal abuse, and subsequently he was physically
assaulted by his co-workers a few blocks from the company premises. He filed a suit under Title VII
alleging racial discrimination by co-workers and his employers. To establish a prima-facie case he
should present the court with:
a. enough evidence to raise a presumption of discrimination.
b. written notice from the federal government allowing him to sue his employers.
c. written notice from the state government allowing him to sue his employers and co-
workers.
d. direct evidence to raise the mixed-motive analysis under Section 702(m).
ANSWER: (a)

18. In McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, the respondent (Green) filed a formal complaint with the
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, claiming that the petitioner had refused to rehire him
because of his race, and persistent involvement in the civil rights movement which were in violation
of Sections 703(a)(1) and 704 (a). How would Green claim a case of discrimination?
a. By clause of arbitration
b. By establishing a prima-facie case
c. By establishing suo-moto case
d. By collective bargaining
ANSWER: (b)

19. One way to establish proof of a disproportionate impact is by using the:

a. Four-Fifth Rules from the NLRB guidelines.
b. Four-Fifth Rules from the IRCA Guidelines.
c. Four-Fifths Rule from the EEOC Guidelines.
d. Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act Guidelines.
ANSWER: (c)

20. The Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) requires federal courts to enforce agreements to arbitrate if they:
a. pertain to railroad employees, or any other class of workers engaged in foreign or
interstate commerce.
b. are voluntary and knowing.
c. do not place undue hardship on the parties.
d. were not knowingly agreed to.
ANSWER: (b)

21. Luke was selected for the post of junior manager in a five-star hotel. The employer’s application for
employment contained a Dispute Resolution Agreement requiring employees to submit all employment
disputes to binding arbitration. Applicants who refused to sign the Dispute Resolution Agreement were
not hired. Such an agreement is:
a. not enforceable under the FAA, as held by the district court.
b. not enforceable under the FAA, as held by the Supreme court.
c. enforceable under the FAA , as held by the Supreme court.
d. enforceable under the FAA, as held by the district court.
ANSWER: (c)

22. Awarding of back pay and seniority is a:

a. principle reversed by the Supreme court.
b. remedy under Title VII .

© 2011 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a
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Cihon/Castagnera, Employment & Labor Law, 7e Test Bank page 6

c. state employment policy.

d. federal employment policy.
ANSWER: (b)

23. Richard worked as an assembly line worker and faced employment discrimination by his supervisors.
He filed a suit against his supervisors and company under Title VI and consecutively won the case against
his employers. He was most likely:
a. awarded back-pay.
b. reinstated at a senior level with higher pay.
c. awarded compensatory damages.
d. awarded punitive damages.
ANSWER: (a)

24. Mixed-motive discrimination claims fall under section:

a. 703(n) of Title VII.
b. 703(c) of Title VII.
c. 703(m) of Title VII.
d. 703(a) of Title VII.
ANSWER: (c)

25. The Civil Rights Act of 1991 amended Title VII to allow recovery of punitive damages in cases in
which the employer has engaged in:
a. discrimination based on creed.
b. discrimination based on third party information.
c. religious discrimination.
d. racial discrimination.
ANSWER: (c)

26. The court may award “reasonable attorney’s fees”:

a. with a notice from the chief justice of the Supreme court.
b. at its discretion.
c. upon the order of the federal government.
d. only when the plaintiff’s case was not frivolous, unreasonable, vexatious, or meritless.
ANSWER: (b)

27. All of the following individuals are subject to Title VII through the Presidential and Executive Office
Accountability Act except employees of the:
a. House of Representatives.
b. executive office of the president.
c. executive residence at the White House
d. official residence of the vice president
ANSWER: (a)

28. Under which rule of Title VII, does the EEOC not need a certification as a class representative?
a. Rule 20
b. Rule 21
c. Rule 22
d. Rule 23
ANSWER: (d)

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publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Cihon/Castagnera, Employment & Labor Law, 7e Test Bank page 7

29. In which of the following cases did the Supreme Court uphold the court-ordered affirmative action to
remedy prior employment discrimination?
a. New York Gaslight Club v. Carey
b. Local 28, Sheet Metal Workers v. EEOC
c. Christianburg Garment Co. v. EEOC
d. Franks v. Bowman Transportation Co.
ANSWER: (b)

30. Title VII was amended in 1972 to cover:

a. judicial organizations.
b. federal employers.
c. employees of the state and federal employers.
d. employees of state and local employers.
ANSWER: (d)

31. The U.S. Attorney General has the authority under section 706(f) (1) to file a suit against:
a. the local public employer.
b. the private employer of a different state.
c. an employee of the EEOC.
d. an employee of the NLRB.
ANSWER: (a)

32. A federal employee alleging employment discrimination must first consult with a(n):
a. Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act counselor.
b. Disparate Treatment Claims counselor.
c. Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) counselor within the employee’s own agency.
d. National Labor Relations Board counselor.
ANSWER: (c)

33. Which of the following employees are subject to Title VII through the Congressional Accountability
Act of 1995?
a. National Labor Relations Board counselor
b. Capitol Guide Service
c. Office of the Architect of the Supreme Court
d. Office of the Attending Physician of the U.S. Attorney General.
ANSWER: (b)

34. The Office of Compliance initially attempts to resolve the complaint through:
a. litigation.
b. arbitration.
c. counseling and mediation.
d. specific performance of contract.
ANSWER: (c)

35. Complaints by federal of violations of Title VII may choose to pursue the complaint with the:
a. state court.
b. US Supreme court.
c. federal apex court of the state.
d. EEOC or file suit in federal court.
ANSWER: (d)

© 2011 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a
publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Cihon/Castagnera, Employment & Labor Law, 7e Test Bank page 8

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 deal with?
ANSWER: Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 deals with provisions and procedures
regarding discrimination based on religion and national origin.

2. What provisions are provided under section 703(e) (2) of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964?
ANSWER: Section 703(e) (2) of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 provides that the
educational institution does not have to demonstrate business necessity to give
preference to members of its religion when hiring employees.

3. Explain ministerial exemption within the context of Title VII.

ANSWER: Ministerial exemption is provided under Title VII to avoid constitutional
concerns such as “excessive entanglement” of the government into the affairs of
the religious organization, and government interference with the free exercise
rights of the religious organization.

4. What is discrimination based on national origin?

ANSWER: Discrimination based on national origin includes any discrimination based upon
the place of origin of an applicant or employee or his or her ancestor(s) and any
discrimination based upon the physical, cultural, or linguistic characteristics of an
ethnic group.

5. Why should employers avoid arbitrary employment criteria, such as height or weight for applicants?
ANSWER: Employers should avoid arbitrary employment criteria, such as height or weight
requirements for applicants or employees because such requirements may have a
disparate impact on national origin.

6. Write down the provision of section 703(g) of Title VII.

ANSWER: The provision enumerated in section 703(g) of Title VII is that it allows the
employers to refuse to hire applicants who are denied national security clearances
for positions subject to federal security requirements.

7. How does Equal Employment opportunity commission (EEOC) differ from the workings of the
National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)?
ANSWER: The Equal Employment opportunity commission (EEOC) differs from the
workings of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in a way that the EEOC
may initiate complaints on its own when it believes a party is involved in a
“pattern or practice” of discrimination.

8. What is the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009?

ANSWER: The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 is a statute that extends time within
which an employee may file suit under several federal employment statutes.

9. What are disparate treatment claims?

ANSWER: Claims of disparate treatment involve allegations of intentional discrimination in
employment. A plaintiff alleging disparate treatment must establish that he or she
was subjected to less favorable treatment because of his or her race, color,
religion, gender, or national origin.

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Cihon/Castagnera, Employment & Labor Law, 7e Test Bank page 9

10. What are the two methods for a defendant to respond when a prima-facie case of disparate treatment
has been established?
ANSWER: The two methods of responding by defendants in a prima-facie case of disparate
treatment that has been established by the plaintiff include:
• The defendant may challenge the statistical analysis, the methods of data
collection, or the significance of the plaintiff’s evidence, and
• The defendant may also submit alternative statistical proof that leads to
conclusions that contradict those of the plaintiff’s evidence.

Essay Questions

1. Discuss the Equal Employment opportunity commission (EEOC) guidelines that are considered in
determining what amounts to reasonable accommodation and whether it results in undue hardship.
ANSWER: The guidelines of the Equal Employment opportunity commission (EEOC) that
are considered while determining what a reasonable accommodation is and
whether it results in undue hardship are:
• the size of the employer’s work force and the number of employees
requiring accommodation
• the nature of the job or jobs that present a conflict
• the cost of the accommodation
• the administrative requirements of the accommodation
• whether the employees affected are under a collective bargaining
agreement
• what alternatives are available and have been considered by the
employer.
While considering the alternative means of accommodation available, the
employee must act reasonably and not put the employer through undue hardship.

2. Explain the policy regarding English-Only Rules.

ANSWER: An employer by denying employment opportunities because of an applicant’s or
employee’s foreign accent or inability to communicate well in English commits a
violation of Title VII. Use of the English-Only Rules by the employers is one
issue of specific concern to the EEOC. It is a violation of the EEOC Guidelines
on Discrimination because of National Origin under Title VII because the EEOC
believes that such rules may create an “atmosphere of inferiority, isolation, and
intimidation” based on an employee’s ethnicity, which could result in a
discriminatory working environment and tend to be “a burdensome term and
condition of employment.”

3. Explain Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, and Discrimination Based on National Origin
or Citizenship.
ANSWER: The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA) prohibits employment
discrimination because of national origin or citizenship against applicants or
employees, other than illegal aliens, with respect to hiring, recruitment,
discharge, or referral for a fee. Whenever there is a necessity to comply with
other laws or federal, state, or local government contracts or when determined by
the attorney general to be essential for an employer to do business with a
government agency, the employer may, however, discriminate based upon
citizenship.

© 2011 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a
publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Cihon/Castagnera, Employment & Labor Law, 7e Test Bank page 10

The protection of the IRCA, to cover seasonal agricultural workers is expanded

by the Immigration Act of 1990. The Department of Justice through the Special
Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices, a position
created by the act, enforces the IRCA.

4. Discuss the enforcement of Title VII.

ANSWER: The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enforces and
administers Title VII. The EEOC is headed by a five-member commission; the
commissioners are appointed by the president with Senate confirmation. The
general counsel of the EEOC is also appointed by the president, also with Senate
confirmation. The EEOC does not adjudicate, or decide, complaints alleging
violations of Title VII, nor is it the exclusive enforcement agency for
discrimination complaints, unlike the National Labor Relations Board. The
EEOC staff investigates complaints filed with it and attempts to settle such
complaints voluntarily. The EEOC may file suit against the alleged discriminator
in the federal courts, if a settlement is not reached voluntarily.

5. What are the remedies provided under Title VII?

ANSWER: Under Title VII, plaintiffs are entitled to a jury trial on their claims. Section
706(g) outlines the remedies available to a successful plaintiff under Title VII.
These remedies include:
• judicial orders requiring hiring or reinstatement of employees
• awarding of back pay and seniority
• injunctions against unlawful employment practices, and
• such affirmative action as may be appropriate

© 2011 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a
publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
The Project Gutenberg eBook of Peter Whiffle
This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States
and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no
restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it
under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this
ebook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the
United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where
you are located before using this eBook.

Title: Peter Whiffle

His life and works

Author: Carl Van Vechten

Release date: May 5, 2024 [eBook #73546]

Language: English

Original publication: United States: Alfred A. Knopf, 1922

Credits: Tim Lindell, Graeme Mackreth and the Online Distributed

Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was
produced from images generously made available by The
Internet Archive)

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PETER

WHIFFLE ***
Peter Whiffle
His Life and Works
BOOKS BY CARL VAN VECHTEN
INTERPRETERS
IN THE GARRET
THE MERRY-GO-ROUND
THE MUSIC OF SPAIN
THE TIGER IN THE HOUSE
MUSIC AND BAD MANNERS
LORDS OF THE HOUSETOPS
MUSIC AFTER THE GREAT WAR
PETER WHIFFLE: HIS LIFE AND WORKS
 Peter Whiffle

His Life and Works

Carl Van Vechten

New York Alfred · A · Knopf

MCMXXIII
 COPYRIGHT, 1922, BY

ALFRED A. KNOPF, Inc.

Published, April, 1922

Second Printing, April, 1922

Third Printing, May, 1922

Fourth Printing, June, 1922

Fifth Printing, July, 1922

Sixth Printing, August, 1922

Seventh Printing, October, 1922

Eighth Printing, March, 1923

Ninth Printing, July, 1923

Set up, electrotyped, printed and bound by the Vail-Ballou Co., Binghamton, N.Y.
Paper furnished by W.F. Etherington & Co., New York.

MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

 TO THE MEMORY OF

MY MOTHER,

ADA AMANDA FITCH VAN VECHTEN

 "'Tingling is the test,' said Babbalanja, 'Yoomy,
did you tingle, when that song was
composing?'
"'All over, Babbalanja.'"
Herman Melville: Mardi.
"We work in the dark—we do what we can—
we give what we have. Our doubt is our
passion, and our passion is our task. The rest
is the madness of art."
Dencombe: The Middle Years.
"Les existences les plus belles sont peut-être
celles qui ont subi tous les extrêmes, qui ont
traversé toutes les températures, rencontré
toutes les sensations excessives et tous les
sentiments contradictoires."
Remy de Gourmont: Le Chat de Misère.
"The man who satisfies a ceaseless
intellectual curiosity probably squeezes more
out of life in the long run than any one else."
Edmund Gosse: Books on the Table.
"O mother of the hills, forgive our towers;
O mother of the clouds, forgive our
dreams."
Edwin Ellis.
 Preface
So few people were acquainted with Peter Whiffle that the
announcement, on that page of the New York Times consecrated to
wedding, birth, and obituary notices, of his death in New York on
December 15, 1919, awakened no comment. Those of my friends
who knew something of the relationship between Peter and myself,
probably did not see the slender paragraph at all. At any rate none of
them mentioned it, save, of course, Edith Dale, whose interest, in a
sense, was as special as my own. Her loss was not so personal,
however, nor her grief so deep. It was strange and curious to
remember that however infrequently we had met, and the chronicle
which follows will give evidence of the comparative infrequency of
these meetings, yet some indestructible bond, a firm determining
girdle of intimate understanding, over which Time and Space had no
power, held us together. I had become to Peter something of a
necessity, in that through me he found the proper outlet for his
artistic explosions. I was present, indeed, at the bombing of more
than one discarded theory. It was under the spell of such apparently
trivial and external matters that our friendship developed and, while
my own interests often flew in other directions, Peter certainly
occupied as important a place in my heart as I did in his, probably, in
some respects, more important. Nevertheless, when I received a
notification from his lawyer that I had been mentioned in Peter's will,
I was considerably astonished. My astonishment increased when I
was informed of the nature of the bequest. Peter Whiffle had
appointed me to serve as his literary executor.
Now Peter Whiffle was not, in any accepted sense of the epithet, an
author. He had never published a book; he had never, indeed,
written a book. In the end he had come to hold a somewhat mystic
theory in regard to such matters, which he had only explained to me
a few moments before he died. I was, however, aware, more aware
than any one else could possibly have been, that from time to time
he had been accustomed to take notes. I was as familiar, I suppose,
as any one could be, with the trend of his later ideas, and with some
of the major incidents in his earlier life he had acquainted me,
although, here, I must confess, there were lacunæ in my knowledge.
Still, his testamentary request, unless I might choose to accept it in a
sense, I am convinced, entirely too flattering to my slender talents,
seemed to be inconsistent with the speculative idea which haunted
him, at least towards the end of his life. This contradiction and an
enlarging sense of the mysterious character of the assignment were
somewhat dispelled by a letter, dated June 17, 1917, which, a few
days after the reading of the will, his lawyer placed in my hands and
which indicated plainly enough that Peter had decided upon my
appointment at least two years and a half before he died. This letter
not only confirmed the strange clause in the will but also, to some
extent, explained it and, as the letter is an essential part of my
narrative, I offer it in evidence at once.
Dear Carl—so it read:
I suppose that some day I shall die; people do die. If there has been
one set purpose in my life, it has been not to have a purpose. That,
you alone, perhaps, understand. You know how I have always
hesitated to express myself definitely, you know how I have refrained
from writing, and you also know, perhaps, that I can write; indeed,
until recently, you thought I was writing, or would write. But I think
you realize now what writing has come to mean to me, definition,
constant definition, although it is as apparent as anything can be that
life, nature, art, whatever one writes about, are fluid and mutable
things, perpetually undergoing change and, even when they assume
some semblance of permanence, always presenting two or more
faces. There are those who are not appalled by these conditions,
those who confront them with bravery and even with impertinence.
You have been courageous. You have published several books
which I have read with varying shades of pleasure, and you have not
hesitated to define, or at any rate discuss, even that intangible,
invisible, and noisy art called Music.
I have begun many things but nothing have I ever completed. It has
always seemed unnecessary or impossible, although at times I have
tried to carry a piece of work through. On these occasions a
restraining angel has held me firmly back. It might be better if what I
have written, what I have said, were permitted to pass into oblivion
with me, to become a part of scoriac chaos. It may not mean
anything in particular; if it means too much, to that extent I have
failed.
Thinking, however, of death, as I sometimes do, I have wondered if,
after all, behind the vapoury curtain of my fluctuating purpose,
behind the orphic wall of my indecision, there did not lurk some
vague shadow of intention. Not on my part, perhaps, but on the part
of that being, or that condition, which is reported to be interested in
such matters. This doubt, I confess, I owe to you. Sometimes, in
those extraordinary moments between sleeping and awakening—
and once in the dentist's chair, after I had taken gas—the knots
seemed to unravel, the problem seemed as naked as Istar at the
seventh gate. But these moments are difficult, or impossible, to
recapture. To recapture them I should have been compelled to invent
a new style, a style as capricious and vibratory as the moments
themselves. In this, however, as you know, I have failed, while you
have succeeded. It is to your success, modest as it may appear to
you, that I turn in my dilemma. To come to the point, cannot you
explain, make out some kind of case for me, put me on my feet (or in
a book), and thereby prove or disprove something? Shameless as I
am, it would be inconceivable, absurd, for me to ask you to do this
while I am yet living and I have, therefore, put my request into a
formal clause in my will. After I am dead, you may search your
memory, which I know to be very good, for such examples of our
conversations as will best be fitted to illuminate your subject, which I
must insist—you, yourself, will understand this, too, sooner or later—
is not me at all.
When your book is published, I shall be dead and perhaps
unconscious. If, however, as I strongly suspect, some current
connects the life to be with the life that is, I can enjoy what you have
done. At the best, you may give others a slight intimation of the
meaning of inspiration or furnish guideposts, lighthouses, and bell-
buoys to the poet who intends to march singing along the highroad
or bravely to embark on the ships at sea; at the worst, I have
furnished you with a subject for another book, and I am well aware
that subjects even for bad books are difficult to light upon.
Salve atque Vale,

Peter.
This letter, I may say, astonished me. I think it would astonish
anybody. A profound and enveloping melancholy succeeded to this
feeling of astonishment. At the time, I was engaged in putting the
finishing touches to The Tiger in the House and I postponed
meditation on Peter's affair until that bulky volume could be
dispatched to the printer. That happy event fell on March 15, 1920,
but my anthology, Lords of The Housetops, next claimed my
attention, and then the new edition of Interpreters, for which I had
agreed to furnish a new paper, and the writing of this new paper
amused me very much, carrying my mind not only far away from
cats, which had been occupying it for a twelvemonth, but also away
from Peter's request. At last, Interpreters was ready for the printer,
but now the proofs of The Tiger began to come in, and I may say that
for the next three months my days were fully occupied in the
correction of proofs, for those of Lords of The Housetops and
Interpreters were in my garret when the proofs of The Tiger were not.
Never have I corrected proofs with so much concentrated attention
as that which I devoted to the proofs of The Tiger, and yet there were
errors. In regard to some of these, I was not the collaborator. On
Page 240, for instance, one may read, There are many females in
the novels of Emile Zola. My intention was to have the fourth word
read, felines, and so it stood in the final proof, but my ambition to
surmount the initial letter of Zola's Christian name with an acute
accent (an ambition I shall forswear on this present page), compelled
the printer to reset the line, so that subsequently, when I opened the
book at this page, I read with amazement that there are many
females in the novels of Emile Zola, a statement that cannot be
readily denied, to be sure, but still it is no discovery of which to
boast.
It was not until September, 1920, that I had an opportunity to
seriously consider Peter's request and when I did begin to consider
it, I thought of it at first only as a duty to be accomplished. But when I
began searching my memory for details of the conversations
between us and had perused certain notes I had made on various
occasions, visited his house on Beekman Place to look over his
effects and talk with his mother, the feeling of the artist for inevitable
material came over me and I knew that whether Peter had written
me that letter or not, I should sooner or later have written this book
about him.
There was another struggle over the eventual form, a question
concerning which Peter had made no suggestions. It seemed to me,
at first, that a sort of haphazard collection of his ideas and
pronunciamentos, somewhat in the manner of Samuel Butler's Note-
Books, would meet the case, but after a little reflection I rejected this
idea. Light on the man was needed for a complete understanding of
his ideas, or lack of them, for they shifted like the waves of the sea. I
can never tell why, but it was while I was reading William Dean
Howells's Familiar Spanish Studies one day in the New York Public
Library that I suddenly decided on a sort of loose biographical form,
a free fantasia in the manner of a Liszt Rhapsody. This settled, I
literally swam ahead and scarcely found it necessary to examine
many papers (which was fortunate as few exist) or to consult
anything but my memory, which lighted up the subject from obscure
angles, as a search-light illuminates the spaces of the sea, once I
had learned to decipher the meaning of the problem. What it is all
about, or whether it is about anything at all, you, the reader, of
course, must decide for yourself. To me, the moral, if I may use a
conventional word to express an unconventional idea, is plain, and if
I have not succeeded in making it appear so, then I must to some
extent blame you, the reader, for what is true of all books, is perhaps
truest of this, that you will carry away from it only what you are able
to bring to it.
 Chapter I
One of my friends, a lady, visited Venice alone in her middle age. It
was late at night when the train drew into the station, and it was
raining, a drizzly, chilling rain. The porter pushed her, with her bag,
into a damp gondola and the dismal voyage to the hotel began.
There were a few lights here and there but she had the impression
that she was floating down the Chicago River in a wash-tub. Once
she had reached her destination, she clambered unsteadily out of
the black barge, wobbled through a dark passageway, inhaling great
whiffs of masticated garlic, and finally emerged in a dimly lighted
lobby. At the desk, a sleepy clerk yawned as she spoke of her
reservation. Tired, rather cross, and wholly disappointed, she
muttered, I don't like Venice at all. I wish I hadn't come. The clerk
was unsympathetically explanatory, Signora should have visited
Venice when she was younger.
A day or so later, the lady recovered her spirits and even her sense
of humour for she told me the story herself and I have always
remembered it. The moment it passed her lips, indeed, I began to
reflect that I had been lucky to encounter the Bride of the Adriatic in
my youth. Paris, too, especially Paris, for there is a melancholy
pleasure to be derived from Venice. It is a suitable environment for
grief; there is a certain superior relish to suffering there. Paris, I
sometimes think, smiles only on the very young and it is not a city I
should care to approach for the first time after I had passed forty.
I was, as a matter of fact, in my twenties when I first went to Paris—
my happiness might have been even greater had I been nineteen—
and I was alone. The trip across England—I had landed at Liverpool
—and the horrid channel, I will not describe, although both made
sufficient impression on me, but the French houses at Dieppe
awakened my first deep emotion and then, and so many times since,
the Normandy cider, quaffed in a little café, conterminous to the
railroad, and the journey through France, alive in the sunlight, for it
was May, the fields dancing with the green grain spattered with
vermilion poppies and cerulean cornflowers, the white roads, flying
like ribbons between the stately poplars, leading away over the
charming hills past the red-brick villas, completed the siege of my not
too easily given heart. There was the stately and romantic
interruption of Rouen, which at that period suggested nothing in the
world to me but Emma Bovary. Then more fields, more roads, more
towns, and at last, towards twilight, Paris.
Railroads have a fancy for entering cities stealthily through
backyards and the first glimpses of Paris, achieved from a car-
window, were not over-pleasant but the posters on the hoardings,
advertising beer and automobile tires, particularly that of the Michelin
Tire Company, with the picture of the pinguid gentleman, constructed
of a series of pneumatic circles, seemed characteristic enough.
Chéret was dead but something of his spirit seemed to glow in these
intensely coloured affiches and I was young. Even the dank Gare
Saint Lazare did not dismay me, and I entered into the novel
baggage hunt with something of zest, while other busy passengers
and the blue porters rushed hither and thither in a complicated but
well-ordered maze. Naturally, however, I was the last to leave the
station; as the light outside deepened to a rich warm blue, I
wandered into the street, my porter bearing my trunk, to find there a
solitary cocher mounted on the box of his carious fiacre.
An artist friend, Albert Worcester, had already determined my
destination and so I gave commands, Hotel de la Place de l'Odéon,
the cocher cracked his whip, probably adding a Hue cocotte! and we
were under way. The drive through the streets that evening seemed
like a dream and, even later, when the streets of Paris had become
more familiar to me than those of any other city, I could occasionally
recapture the mood of this first vision. For Paris in the May twilight is
very soft and exquisite, the grey buildings swathed in a bland blue
light and the air redolent with a strange fragrance, the ingredients of
which have never been satisfactorily identified in my nasal
imagination, although Huysmans, Zola, Symons, and Cunninghame
Graham have all attempted to separate and describe them.
Presently we crossed the boulevards and I saw for the first time the
rows of blooming chestnut trees, the kiosques where newsdealers
dispensed their wares, the brilliantly lighted theatres, the sidewalk
cafés, sprinkled with human figures, typical enough, doubtless, but
who all seemed as unreal to me at the time as if they had been
Brobdingnags, Centaurs, Griffins, or Mermaids. Other fiacres, private
carriages, taxi-autos, carrying French men and French ladies,
passed us. I saw Bel Ami, Nana, Liane de Pougy, or Otero in every
one of them. As we drove by the Opéra, I am certain that Cléo de
Mérode and Leopold of Belgium descended the steps. Even the
buses assumed the appearance of gorgeous chariots, bearing
perfumed Watteauesque ladies on their journey to Cythera. As we
drove through the Tuileries Gardens, the mood snapped for an
instant as I viewed the statue of Gambetta, which, I thought at the
time, and have always thought since, was amazingly like the portrait
of a gentleman hailing a cab. What could more completely symbolize
Paris than the statue of a gentleman perpetually hailing a cab and
never getting one?
We drove on through the Louvre and now the Seine was under us,
lying black in the twilight, reviving dark memories of crime and
murder, on across the Pont du Carrousel, and up the narrow Rue de
Seine. The Quartier Latin! I must have cried aloud, for the cocher
looked a trifle suspicious, his head turned the fraction of an inch.
Later, of course, I said, the left bank, as casually as any one. It was
almost dark when we drove into the open Place, flanked by the
Odéon, a great Roman temple, with my little hotel tucked into one
corner, as unostentatiously as possible, being exactly similar to
every other structure, save the central one, in the Place. I shall stop
tonight, I said to myself, in the hotel where Little Billee lived, for,
when one first goes to Paris when one is young, Paris is either the
Paris of Murger, du Maurier, or the George Moore of the
Confessions, perhaps the Paris of all three. In my bag these three
books lay, and I had already begun to live one of them.
The patron and a servant in a long white apron were waiting,
standing in the doorway. The servant hoisted my trunk to his
shoulder and bore it away. I paid the cocher's reckoning, not without
difficulty for, although I was not ignorant of the language, I was
unaccustomed to the simplicity of French coinage. There were also
the mysteries of the pourboire to compute—ten per cent, I had been
told; who has not been told this?—and besides, as always happens
when one is travelling, I had no little money. But at length the
negotiations were terminated, not to the displeasure of the cocher, I
feel certain, since he condescended to smile pleasantly. Then, with a
crack of his whip, this enormous fellow with his black moustaches,
his glazed top-hat, and his long coat, drove away. I cast a long
lingering look after him, apparently quite unaware that many another
such teratological specimen existed on every hand. Now I followed
the patron into a dark hallway and new strata of delight. He gave me
a lighted candle and, behind him, I mounted the winding stairway to
the first floor, where I was deposited in a chamber with dark red
walls, heavy dark red curtains at the windows, which looked out over
the Place, a black walnut wash-hand-stand with pitcher and basin, a
huge black walnut wardrobe, two or three chairs of the same wood,
upholstered with faded brocade, and a most luxurious bed, so high
from the floor that one had to climb into it, hung with curtains like
those at the window, and surmounted by a feather-bed. There was
also another article of furniture, indispensable to any French
bedroom.
I gave Joseph (all men servants in small hotels in Paris are named
Joseph, perhaps to warn off prospective Potiphar's wives) his vail,
asked for hot water, which he bore up promptly in a small can,
washed myself, did a little unpacking, humming the Mattchiche the
while, changed my shirt, my collar and my necktie, demanded
another bougie, lighted it, and under the humble illumination afforded
by it and its companion, I began to read again The Confessions of a
Young Man. It was not very long before I was interrupted in the midst
of an absorbing passage descriptive of the circle at the Nouvelle
Athènes by the arrival of Albert Worcester, who had arranged for my
reception, and right here I may say that I was lodged in the Hotel de
la Place de l'Odéon for fifty francs a month. Albert's arrival, although
unannounced, was not unexpected, as he had promised to take me
to dinner.
I was sufficiently emphatic. Paris! I cried. Paris! Good God!
I see you are not disappointed. But Albert permitted a trace of
cynicism to flavour his smile.
It's too perfect, too wonderful. It is more than I felt or imagined. I'm
moving in.
But you haven't seen it....
I've seen enough. I don't mean that. I mean I've seen enough to
know. But I want to see it all, everything, Saint Sulpice, the Folies-
Bergère, the Musée de Cluny, the Nouvelle Athènes, the Comédie
Française, the Bal Bullier, the Arc de Triomphe, the Luxembourg
Gardens....
They close at sundown. My expression was the cue for him to
continue, They'll be open tomorrow and any other day. They're just
around the corner. You can go there when you get up in the morning,
if you do get up in the morning. But what do you want to do tonight?
Anything! Everything! I cried.
Well, we'll eat first.
So we blew out the candles, floated down the dark stairs—I didn't
really walk for a week, I am sure—, brushing on our way against a
bearded student and a girl, fragrant and warm in the semi-blackness,
out into the delicious night, with the fascinating indescribable odour
of Paris, which ran the gamut from the fragrance of lilac and mimosa
to the aroma of horse-dung; with the sound of horses' hoofs and
rolling wheels beating and revolving on the cobble-stones, we made
our way—I swear my feet never touched the ground—through the
narrow, crooked, constantly turning, bewildering streets, until we
came out on a broad boulevard before the Café d'Harcourt, where I
was to eat my first Paris dinner.
The Café d'Harcourt is situated near the Church of the Sorbonne on
the Boulevard Saint Michel, which you are more accustomed to see
spelled Boul' Mich'. It is a big, brightly lighted café, with a broad
terrasse, partially enclosed by a hedge of green bushes in boxes.
The hands of the clock pointed to the hour of eight when we arrived
and the tables all appeared to be occupied. Inside, groups of men
were engaged in games of checkers, while the orchestra was